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Temperatures are set to climb to a high of 16 degrees in the middle of the week as we get our first spell of prolonged warm, dry and sunny weather.

Cork will see plenty of sunshine and very little rain, with no significant showers predicted until the weekend. Temperatures will climb to daytime highs of 14 to 16 degrees. It will feel hotter in inland and sheltered areas and almost approaching t-shirts and shorts weather for many of us.

And if you are taking your 2km daily exercise - Wednesday is the day to look forward to as it will be sunny and warm through the day and is likely to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Cork is about to benefit from the first significant hint of summer across Europe with the forecasters predicting temperatures climbing into the low 20s across much of central Europe this week and plenty of sunshine.

London will also be warm with a high of 20 degrees in the middle of the week.

The warm, settled weather should bring some cheer in the midst of the current lockdown - but could bring problems for the authorities trying to enforce the rules on not travelling beyond 2kms from your home.

And as for the effects of warm weather on the spread of Covid-19 - scientists have not reached a consensus on whether warmer weather can significantly affect the virus, as it does with influenza outbreaks.

A key study of the common, known coronaviruses similar to Covid-19 was published last week by scientists at University College London.

They analysed samples collected several years ago and found high rates of coronavirus infections in February, while in summer they were very low.

Other studies have also shown coronaviruses are seasonal in behaviour in temperate climates such as we experience in Ireland and across much of Europe.

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However, the UCL study’s lead author, Dr Rob Aldridge, sounded a note of caution.

“We could see continued but lower levels of coronavirus transmission in summer but this may reverse in the winter if there is still a large susceptible population at that point,” he said.

“And given this is a novel virus, we don’t know if a seasonal pattern will hold over the summer given high levels of susceptibility in the population. For this reason, it is crucial that we all act now to follow current health advice.”

Epidemiologists and other scientists analysing the Covid-19 will be watching closely to see how - or if - rising summer temperatures impact on the pandemic across Europe and the rest of the world.

For the moment, the most effective way to halt the spread of the virus is to continue to observe isolation and quarantine protocols.